Foundation stabilization system for manufactured housing

A foundation system for bracing a manufactured home on its foundation comprising:

• a plurality of vertical piers spaced in first and second directions relative to a longitudinal axis of said home which support the home above the ground, said piers including a plurality of vertically stacked blocks;
• a plurality of elongated braces connected to the mobile home and a foundation footing, said foundation footing having an upper pier supported surface on which said pier is supported;
• said pier support surface of said foundation footing having a first anchor area and a second anchor area defined on each side of a pier base block of said pier;
• a plurality of elongated braces comprising unitary brace tubes and footing anchors at first ends of said brace tubes, said brace tube adapted to connect to an I-beam anchor at a second remote end of said brace tube, and said footing anchors and I-beam anchors being secured to said footing and I-beams, respectively;
• each said footing anchor including a major leg and a minor leg having a shorter length than said major leg, said major and minor legs being flattened to form an anchor tab intersecting the longitudinal axis of said brace tube at an acute angle of inclination, said anchor tab adapted for attachment to said footing;
• and a flexible joint including concave indentures formed on opposing sides at the intersection generally formed at intermediate said brace tube, and said flexible joint providing a degree of rotation of said brace tube relative to said anchor tab so that said angle of inclination may be changed;
• Whereby said anchor footing of a brace tube may be attached to said footing, and said brace tube may be rotated to change the angle of inclination for proper alignment and attachment to the I-beam of said manufactured home in a minimum of space and without the need of separate pivot bracket hardware.

A method for bracing a manufactured home on its foundation of the type which includes a plurality of vertical piers supported on footings space in longitudinal and lateral directions relative to a longitudinal axis of said home which support the home above the ground, and at least one elongated brace connected between the mobile home and a foundation footing contacting the ground with the pier supported on the footing;

• and said method comprising:
• providing a one-piece brace comprising a brace tube, a flexible joint, and an anchor tab formed at a first end of said brace tube for attachment to said footing so that said brace tube may be rotated about the flexible joint in a vertical plane for adjusting an acute angle of inclination between said brace tube and the footing when said brace tube is attached to said footing;
• attaching said anchor tab to said footing;
• adjusting the angle of inclination to properly align with an adjacent longitudinal I-beam;
• and
• affixing a second end of said brace tube to said adjacent I-beam.